{"rewrite":{"id":"r_25ce5f7cf7f34a66293ec3b7","clusterId":"c_5276c356dd4a4f9f4cdfe050","slug":"nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-anime-reveals-new-cast-and-half-year-run","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime Reveals New Cast and Half-Year Run","summary":"The staff for the television anime of Umikaze Minamino's Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden light novel series revealed the second promotional video on Tuesday, along with four new cast members and confirmation that the series will run for two consecutive cours. The new video previews the opening theme song \"Respawn!!\" by VTuber Tsunomaki Watame. The four new cast members are Kōichi Sakaguchi as Bendelio, Junichi Suwabe as Hyurence Altoire, Maaya Uchida as Sharro White, and Kazuyuki Okitsu as Asuma. The anime premieres October 6 on Tokyo MX at 9:25 p.m. JST, followed by BS NTV and MBS, and will stream on ABEMA, d Anime Store, and U-NEXT after broadcast. HIDIVE will stream the series as it airs. An advance screening of the first three episodes is set for September 22 at the esports TOKYO BAY studio. Motoki Nakanishi directs at KONAMI animation, with Haruta Segi as assistant director, Gigaemon Ichikawa on series scripts, and Naoki Endō composing the music. The cast includes Honoka Inoue as Nia Liston, Fūka Izumi as Rinokis Funk, Rina Honnizumi as Hildetora Altoir, Rina Hidaka as Reliared Silver, Taku Yashiro as Anzel, Yōko Hikasa as Fressa, and Satoshi Hino as Gandolf Rogen.","whyItMatters":"The two-cour commitment and the September 22 advance screening of the first three episodes signal a substantial production push for a light novel series that ended its web run in 2021 but has since grown to 11 volumes and a manga adaptation.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe character designs come from Yūki Itō, a key animator on the Mob Psycho 100 II OAV, and Kana Tosaoka, an in-between animator on the Kantai Collection film. Hiromi Kikuta, whose credits include Aikatsu!, Blue Period, and Haikyu!!, directs the sound. The rest of the production staff includes color key artist Ryōta Katsuta, art director Hiroshi Gōroku, background art from Makaria, and editing by Masayuki Kurosawa.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDirector Motoki Nakanishi previously helmed Love Is Indivisible by Twins and Summoned to Another World for a Second Time. Series scriptwriter Gigaemon Ichikawa worked on Himitsu no AiPri and three seasons of PuniRunes. Composer Naoki Endō\u0026#39;s credits include Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club and Nijiyon Animation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinamino launched the story on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in 2019 and ended the web run in 2021. Hobby Japan began publishing the novels in September 2022 with illustration by Jishaku; Katana Canata took over the illustrations from the third volume in 2023, and the anime credits both for the original character designs. The 11th volume shipped June 1. J-Novel Club releases the novels digitally in English.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKabuto Kodai\u0026#39;s manga adaptation has run on Square Enix\u0026#39;s Manga UP! service since 2022. Square Enix published the first compiled volume in May 2023 and the eighth on February 6. Manga UP! Global carries the manga in English.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"The Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden anime's new trailer previews its opening theme \"Respawn!!\" by VTuber Tsunomaki Watame and confirms a two-cour run starting October 6.","twitterPost":"Junichi Suwabe, Maaya Uchida, Kazuyuki Okitsu, and Kōichi Sakaguchi join the Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden cast as the series locks in a half-year broadcast run from October 6.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"The Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden anime dropped its second trailer, adding four cast members and confirming a two-cour run starting October 6. HIDIVE will stream the series as it airs, and the opening theme comes from VTuber Tsunomaki Watame.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-08/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-anime-2nd-video-unveils-more-cast-half-year-run/.241514\",\"title\":\"Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime's 2nd Video Unveils More Cast, Half-Year Run\"},{\"source\":\"Anime Corner\",\"url\":\"https://animecorner.me/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-anime-unveils-new-trailer/\",\"title\":\"Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime Unveils New Trailer\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":11107,"outputTokens":6626,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1788874182,"createdAt":"2026-09-08T13:27:35.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-08T13:28:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-08T13:28:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_5276c356dd4a4f9f4cdfe050","canonicalTitle":"News\nNia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime's 2nd Video Unveils More Cast, Half-Year Run","representativeArticleId":"a_f927897de373016d4bc12849","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Kōichi Sakaguchi\",\"Junichi Suwabe\",\"Maaya Uchida\",\"Kazuyuki Okitsu\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-08T10:20:10.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-08T11:27:33.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-08T13:28:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-08/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-anime-2nd-video-unveils-more-cast-half-year-run/.241514","title":"News\nNia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime's 2nd Video Unveils More Cast, Half-Year Run"},{"source":"Anime Corner","url":"https://animecorner.me/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-anime-unveils-new-trailer/","title":"Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden Anime Unveils New Trailer"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden"],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Kōichi Sakaguchi","Junichi Suwabe","Maaya Uchida","Kazuyuki Okitsu"],"type":"news","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["The anime premieres October 6 on Tokyo MX at 9:25 p.m. JST and will run for two consecutive cours, with HIDIVE streaming it as it airs.","The opening theme song is \"Respawn!!\" by VTuber Tsunomaki Watame.","Motoki Nakanishi directs the anime at KONAMI animation, with Haruta Segi as assistant director.","An advance screening of the first three episodes is scheduled for September 22 at the esports TOKYO BAY studio."]}